JEREVAN, Armenia, April 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ruben Vardanyan, the philanthropist and business leader who has been unlawfully detained for nearly three weeks, has been allowed to speak with his wife Veronika today, thanks to the growing global awareness and pressure from the international community.
This marks only the second phone call that Vardanyan has been permitted to make to his family since he began a hunger strike on April 5th. His hunger strike started after repeated requests for a fair and transparent judicial process, in line with international legal standards, were ignored. Originally scheduled for January, his court hearing was later postponed to May without any given reason.
After witnessing Ruben Vardanyan’s deteriorating health, his family managed to convince him to end his hunger strike. They informed him about the increasing pressure being put on Azerbaijan by government officials from around the world. Despite his reluctance, Vardanyan agreed to suspend the hunger strike in the interest of his family, considering the global movement for the release of Armenian prisoners and the pleas from his own family.
Over the past few weeks, several initiatives have taken place to support the release of political prisoners. This includes the United States Congress submitting a bill proposing sanctions against high-ranking officials of the Azerbaijani government for the unlawful detention of political prisoners. In addition, the European Parliament presented a resolution on April 25th. Furthermore, rallies were held in the United States, France, and Armenia yesterday to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and to voice support for the release of political prisoners.
Vardanyan remains imprisoned in Baku, where he is facing worsening conditions. Following the hunger strike, he has been denied regular phone contact with his family, adding to the list of international norms violated by Azerbaijan. He has also been placed in complete isolation with limited access to appropriate healthcare, except for occasional blood pressure monitoring. Concerns about his actual health status continue to persist.
Expressing his concerns about his father’s declining health, David Vardanyan, one of Ruben Vardanyan’s sons, said, “We are deeply worried about my father’s deteriorating health, despite his anticipated resilience. His problems have only worsened after the initial relief. The world has shown Azerbaijan that it is closely following the fate of Armenian prisoners, including my father, and on behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time. I hope that this increasing international attention can lead to his release in the near future. We urgently appeal to the international community to continue to exert pressure on Azerbaijan and ensure his court hearing in May 2024 with the presence of international observers.”
The Annual Human Rights Report released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 23rd confirmed the unjust treatment of Ruben Vardanyan and other political prisoners and detainees in Azerbaijan. The report estimated that as of December 2023, approximately 254 political prisoners and detainees were being held in the country. The local justice system was also described as highly corrupt, ineffective, and lacking independence. The report highlighted that in Azerbaijan, the accused are often “denied the right to presumption of innocence; a fair, timely, and public trial; the right to communicate with a defense attorney of their choosing; the right to adequate time and resources for defense preparation; the right to confront witnesses and present their own testimony and evidence; and the right not to be compelled to testify or confess guilt.”
Ruben Vardanyan is one of eight former officials arrested in September last year when the Azerbaijani government armed forces entered the Nagorno-Karabakh region, triggering a mass exodus of 120,000 civilians. Now, after more than 200 days, these eight Armenian officials face a series of politically motivated charges.
Vardanyan, a renowned Armenian philanthropist and entrepreneur, and a loving husband and father of four, has been unlawfully detained for over 200 days. He is currently falsely accused and detained in inadequate conditions. His court hearing is expected to be conducted without adherence to international standards, including the presence of international observers. Moreover, his case has been isolated from the other seven political prisoners, raising concerns of political bias.
For more information, please visit www.freearmenianprisoners.com
CONTACT:
Jere Sullivan, Edelman Global Advisory [email protected] +1 (202) 425-9056
Free Armenian Prisoners [email protected] www.FreeArmenianPrisoners.com #FreeArmenianPrisoners @RubenVardanyan
The article discusses Ruben Vardanyan, a philanthropist and business leader who has been unlawfully detained for nearly three weeks. Thanks to growing global awareness and pressure from the international community, Vardanyan has been allowed to speak with his wife today. This is only the second phone call he has been permitted to make to his family since he began a hunger strike on April 5th. Vardanyan started the hunger strike after his requests for a fair and transparent judicial process were ignored.
Despite his deteriorating health, Vardanyan’s family convinced him to end the hunger strike after informing him about the increasing pressure being put on Azerbaijan by government officials from around the world. The release of political prisoners has been supported through various initiatives, such as the United States Congress proposing sanctions against high-ranking officials of the Azerbaijani government and the European Parliament presenting a resolution. Rallies have also been held in different countries to voice support for the release of political prisoners.
Vardanyan remains imprisoned in Baku, facing worsening conditions. After the hunger strike, he has been denied regular phone contact with his family and placed in complete isolation with limited access to appropriate healthcare. Concerns about his actual health status persist. The unjust treatment of Vardanyan and other political prisoners in Azerbaijan has been confirmed by the Annual Human Rights Report released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The report also highlights the highly corrupt and ineffective local justice system.
Vardanyan is one of eight former officials arrested last year during the Azerbaijani government’s entry into the Nagorno-Karabakh region. These officials face politically motivated charges, and Vardanyan has been unlawfully detained for over 200 days. His court hearing is expected to be conducted without adherence to international standards, and his case has been isolated from the other political prisoners, raising concerns of political bias.
Advantages
– The global awareness and pressure have allowed Vardanyan to speak with his family, indicating that international efforts can lead to positive outcomes.
– Initiatives by the United States Congress and the European Parliament show that political prisoners are being supported on an international level.
– The release of a resolution and rallies in various countries indicate the growing support for the release of political prisoners, including Vardanyan.
Disadvantages
– Despite the international pressure, Vardanyan’s conditions in prison continue to worsen.
– The local justice system in Azerbaijan is described as corrupt, ineffective, and lacking independence, posing challenges to fair and transparent judicial processes.
– Vardanyan’s court hearing is expected to be conducted without adherence to international standards, raising concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.
To learn more about the issue and support the release of Armenian prisoners, visit the website www.freearmenianprisoners.com.